G7 foreign ministers express concern over China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet

The G7 foreign ministers on Friday reiterated the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait and expressed their concern over the human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet by Chinese authorities, Taiwan News reported citing a joint statement issued on Friday.

Regional peace and stability are “indispensable to security and prosperity for the whole international community,” the ministers said, calling for a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.

They also reaffirmed their support for Taiwan’s inclusion in international organisations, such as the World Health Assembly and World Health Organisation technical meetings. There is no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, they added.

The ministers expressed concern about China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet and pointed out the “deterioration of pluralism” in Hong Kong. They also urged China to stop activities undermining democratic institutions and the security of communities.

The joint statement follows US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink’s meeting with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Qiu Kaiming in Beijing on April 15.

Accompanied by US National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran, Kritenbrink stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

He also assured Beijing there was no change to the US “one China” policy, Taiwan News reported.

Despite calls from the international community for regional peace, China has continued to ramp up military activity around Taiwan. The threat of a potential invasion of Taiwan has prompted the US to help beef up Taiwanese defence.

Most recently, US House Speaker Mike Johnson proposed the 2024 Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act on April 17 that allocates USD 2 billion (NTD 65.07 billion) from the Foreign Military Financing Program for Taiwan and other regional security partners for “confronting Chinese aggression.” It also provides an additional USD 1.9 billion to “replenish defence articles and defence services” for Taiwan and other partners.